Fred McGriff: The Crime Dog makes the Hall of Fame

Fred McGriff, who was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s.
Source:  Focus On Sport/GettyImages
https://jaysjournal.com/posts/fred-mcgriff-gives-the-blue-jays-another-deserving-hall-of-famer-01gkg19zqgbj
(May be subject to copyright)

I am not sure I ever saw a player look more intense at the plate or hit the ball with more power and determination.

For six years, Fred McGriff patrolled first base for the Toronto Blue Jays, putting up great numbers at the plate and providing leadership on the field.

Eventually, it would be his departure in a trade that would finally put the Blue Jays over the top, but McGriff produced right until the end.

I saw McGriff a few weeks ago on a Blue Jays telecast, commemorating his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and it brought back memories of that great player they called the Crime Dog.

Yankee go north
McGriff broke into the majors in the New York Yankees system in 1981. However, he got caught in a bit of a numbers game. He played first base but, unfortunately for McGriff, the Yankees were already set at that position with Don Mattingley, who arguably was the best player in the game.

The Yankees were looking to bolster their bull pen. They found what they were looking for in Toronto and relief pitcher Dale Murray. So the Yankees shipped Dave Collins, Mike Morgan and McGriff, to the Jays for Murray and Tom Dodd.

At the time, I was pretty annoyed, because it seemed every decent player the Jays had ended up shipping out, and often to the Yankees. I thought the Jays got ripped off in that trade.

Boy was I wrong.

Blue Jay success
That trade turned out to be incredibly one-sided – but for the Blue Jays, not the Yankees.

McGriff made his debut with the Blue Jays on May 17, 1986, playing two innings at first base. The next day he started his first major league game as the designated hitter. In his first at bat, he got his first career hit. He played in just one more game that season.

He became a full-time major leaguer in 1987, appearing in 107 games, recording 73 hits, including 20 home runs, and 43 runs batted in.

McGriff appeared in 154 games in 1988, recording 151 hits including 35 doubles and 34 home runs, and 82 RBIs.

He really broke through in 1989, smashing 36 home runs in 161 games to lead the American League. He also had 27 doubles and 92 RBI, and hit the first-ever home run at SkyDome while helping the Jays win the American League East Division title.

Leaving Toronto
In 1990, the Blue Jays had another disappointing end to the season, so they shook up the baseball world in December with a blockbuster four-player trade. Toronto sent McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez to the San Diego Padres for second baseman Roberto Alomar and power-hitting outfielder Joe Carter.

That trade, along with some other additions, paved the way to two World Series championships for the Blue Jays.

McGriff would go on to have a productive time in San Diego, win a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1995, and play for the Tampa Devil Rays twice, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

He finished his career with 2,490 hits, 441 doubles, 493 home runs, and 1,550 RBIs.

Fred McGriff was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, receiving 100 per cent of the votes.

Ironically Don Mattingly, the man who stood in the way of McGriff playing first base for the New York Yankees, precipitating McGriff’s trade to Toronto, was second. He received 50 per cent of the ballots, which was not enough to enter the Hall of Fame.

The Crime Dog
One day I was watching Sportsdesk on TSN, and I heard Fred McGriff referred to as the “Crime Dog”. I thought that was cool but had no idea what it meant.

I asked my friend Kevin Tabata. He knows way more about baseball than I do, and said it came from a cartoon.

As it turns out, Wikipedia reveals the nickname is a play on words on McGruff the Crime Dog. The nickname was coined by Marty Barrett, and popularized by Chris Berman, who has his own unique way with nicknames.

Parting thoughts

I am not sure if there was anyone who looked more intimidating coming to the plate in a key situation than Fred McGriff. He had this look of intensity, that was not a glare, but instead extreme focus.

When he made contact, the ball exploded off the bat so fast, it looked like a ball shot out of a canon. In fact, he would hit the ball so hard, it would rebound off the outfield wall so much it limited hits to singles, that should have been sure doubles. When he hit a home run, you knew it. Either it was a towering home run, or the ball got out of the park in a hurry. If he hit a line drive, it looked like it was on a rope.

He was there with the Jays, like so many others, to experience that heartbreak of the 1980s. Unlike the rest though, he played a role in the Blue Jays ultimate success. It was nothing he did on the field, but the trade that sent him out of Toronto brought the missing pieces that helped win a championship.

Fred McGriff may have played most of his career on teams other than the Blue Jays, and he may have decided to go into the Hall of Fame wearing no one team’s hat, but he will always be a Blue Jay to me.